Travels of an Australian Swami

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Monthly Archives: November 2013

Tulasi Vivaha is a famous festival where it is said that tulasi devi, in this world in the form of a plant, marries Krsna, in the form of Saligram Sila.

Briefly, the story is that tulasi took birth as the daughter of Madhavi and Dharmadhvaj. Tulasi wanted Lord Krishna to be her husband. At an early age she went to the Himalayas and undertook harsh penances. Brahma approached Tulasi and told her that her desire would be ultimately and eternally fulfilled. But first she would have to marry a demon named Shankhachuda. It is only through this marriage that Krishna would come to her.

In Goloka Shankhacuda lived as Sridama and Tulasi as Viraja. Sridama was madly in love with Viraja but she had her mind set on Krishna. Once when Viraja was intimate with Krishna, Radha appeared and cursed Viraja to live on earth. Radha also cursed Sridama and he became Shankhacuda.

Shankhacuda was invincible as long as Tulasi kept her chastity. Once, while her husband was away, Krsna disguised Himself as Shankhacuda and was intimate with Tulasi. When she realised what had happened she cursed Him to be a black stone. He in turn cursed her to be a plant but They would be eternally united.

Fremantle, Western Australia, is a port suburb 30 minutes south of the city of Perth. It was settled in 1829 and was named after Captain Fremantle who was the commander of the HMS Challenger. It has a lively shopping area, as well as golden beaches that lead out to the Indian Ocean.

For the last 10 years, the local community has organised the Fremantle Parade, which takes place every November. There are about 60 floats that participate in the parade and we have been involved for the last 6 or 7 years.

It was certainly enlivening to see Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi riding majestically on Their Rathayatra cart. The throngs of devotees were dancing and chanting Their glories as the parade wound through the streets of the city.

On November 14, 1977, at 7:25 p.m., Prabhupada opened his eyes, which were very clear, more so than in many months. His mouth opened, his tongue moved, and then he became still. The kaviraja took Prabhupada’s pulse and held a cotton swab to his nostril, detecting no movement of air. Our beloved Srila Prabhupada had departed.

Surrounded by his loving disciples, who were chanting the holy name of Krsna; lying very peaceful in his bed in Vrndavana-dhama, the holy land of Krsna’s birth; his head directed toward the Deities of Krsna-Balarama; surrounded by photos of all the Deities and his Guru Maharaja; decorated with candana and a big tulasi leaf on his forehead; and holding tulasi in his right hand, he departed and returned to the lotus feet of Krsna, from whence he came.

This year, at our Brisbane temple, the devotees gathered to offer homage to our Srila Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness and my spiritual master.

Diwali celebrates the return of Lord Rama, with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana to Ayodhya after a 14 year exile, and a war in which he killed the demon king Ravana. It is believed that the people of Ayodhya lit ghee lamps along the way to light their path in the darkness.

The festival spans a five day period and is followed a little differently according to the region. Generally, the first day is dedicated to Lord Danvantari’s appearance, carrying the nectar of immortality from the ocean of milk.

The second is Krsna and Satybhama’s killing of Narakasura. The third is dedicated to Lord Rama or in some areas, Lakshmi Devi. The fourth is Krsna’s lifting of Govardhana hill and the fifth, Bhratri dooj, where brothers visit their sisters to ask of their welfare. Long ago, Yamaraja visited his sister Yamuna and gave her the boon that whosever visits her on this day will be freed from sins and attain moksa.

The pictures are of the celebration at the Bhakti Centre on the Gold Coast.

Mahabaleshwar is a holy place about 240 Kilometres south east of Mumbai on top of the Sahyadri Mountain Range. Srila Prabhupada visited this place in 1976 and stayed at one life member’s house.

Many thousands of years before, Dhaumya Rsi, one of the priests of the Pandavas, came here and worshiped a self-manifesting Siva Lingam called Mahabaleshwar, hence the name of the small town. This area is the start of the famous Krsna River and the Pandavas spent time here while they were in exile. Bhimasena built a stone temple to house the murti of the river Krsna.

The GBCs were invited by Mr Rathi, a close friend of the devotees, to spend a few days at his hotel complex near the temple of Mahabaleshwar. Previously, at a meeting at Tirupati, the GBC spoke of getting together for a few days of sanga, so when the opportunity came up everything was arranged nicely.